If you have time when visiting Piestany, take a walk or a bike ride down the path to Old Town Piestany. It is tiny, but it is worth about 30 minutes of your time with its old church and buildings in the area. The church…Read More

If you have time when visiting Piestany, take a walk or a bike ride down the path to Old Town Piestany. It is tiny, but it is worth about 30 minutes of your time with its old church and buildings in the area.

The church dates from the 18th century and is one of the biggest parishes in Piestany. Outside of the church is a stock and pillory where people convicted of crimes were duly punished. No one is tied to the pillories anymore, but they are there for anyone who wants to have a picture taken holding the chains. Ivan and I goofed off for a few minutes on the pillories before continuing on one of our many bike rides from Borovce to Piestany.

There are also hotels and pensions for one to stay if you cannot find accommodations near the spa that are worth looking into. Piestany survived communism to emerge looking better than ever and there is not as much vandalism and damage as there is in many of the big Slovak cities.

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During two visits to Slovakia, I visited the town of Piestany a lot, since my friend Ivan was working and I wanted to explore and shop on my own while there. I would take a short bus ride to Piestany, which was about 5…Read More

During two visits to Slovakia, I visited the town of Piestany a lot, since my friend Ivan was working and I wanted to explore and shop on my own while there. I would take a short bus ride to Piestany, which was about 5 miles from Borovce, Ivan's home village. One of my first full Slovak sentences was "Jeden do Zeleny Krupicka prosim (One ticket to the Piestany Train and Bus Station, please)!" After getting off of the bus, I would walk the tree and apartment lined streets for about 10-15 minutes to get to downtown Piestany. After 2 or 3 times, I felt like an expert on getting around in Piestany, knowing where to shop and do my banking.

The best place to go shopping is on Ulica Winterova. Named for the Winter family who owned the Piestany Spa for most of the late 19th century, Ulica Winterova is lined with old buildings, hotels, and shops to browse in and shop in until your heart's content. My favorite shop was the souvenir shop that sold majolika pottery. Majolika (MY-O-LEEKA) is a pottery native to the Modra area of Slovakia, and it comes in the form of vases, teapots, and other decorative works and is brightly painted with flowers and other designs. The prices in this shop are reasonable, and I came away with three pieces of majolika for under $20 US. One of the girls working in the shop spoke English, and it was easy for me to communicate in broken Slovak and English. In the alleyways of Ulica Winterova, there are many little shops to buy yarn and other necessities of life.

Before going to the spa on several visits, Ivan and I would stop at this little cafe that served Treska (cod salad). I got addicted to this stuff to the point of a tummy ache, but it is better than tuna fish to me. We would order some treska and water and sit down and eat, talk, and relax.

My recommendation for a day in Piestany is to stop at one of many grocery stores along the way to the spa, pick up some treska or deli meat at the deli counter, yogurt, fruit, and soda or water, and take a picnic to the spa via Ulica Winterova. Then sit down in front of the Thermia Spa and enjoy the scenery while eating. I also took pictures, people-watched, and wrote postcards. People from all over Europe and a rare American go to Piestany for the spa treatments.

So, if you want to visit Piestany, this is the way to do it. I recommend highly to keep your money in a money belt, because there are many gypsies and thieves hanging out on the streets of Piestany looking for easy tourists as victims, not as many in Ulica Winterova, but use precaution.

A day in Piestany will bring you great memories and a leave you a few pounds lighter with all of the walking you will do.

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There are many spas located throughout the Czech and Slovak Republics. Thermal springs, sulphur plaster water, and massage are said to cure or relieve pain from arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac and respiratory troubles, and other ailments. Piestany Spa has been around for centuries. It…Read More

There are many spas located throughout the Czech and Slovak Republics. Thermal springs, sulphur plaster water, and massage are said to cure or relieve pain from arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac and respiratory troubles, and other ailments.

Piestany Spa has been around for centuries. It is said Roman soldiers bathed in the waters at Piestany around the time Christ was born. In the 16th century, Piestany was advertised as a spa where "man whose body and spirit should have matched the antique criteria for strong, healthy man." Aristocrats, civilians, and soldiers came to Piestany to take a cure in the waters and muds there.

In 1801, Ludwig von Beethoven came to Piestany to take in the waters as a guest of Count Dezass. In 1822, the first spa house was built at Piestany, and it was known as the Old or Napoleonic Spa. This building is still standing on the grounds of Piestany Spa.

In the late 19th century, Piestany Spa was taken over from the Erdody family, a Hungarian aristocratic family, by the Winter Family, and Piestany's popularity began to grow in Europe. Soon, kings and queens and politicians flocked to Piestany for cures and relaxation. The aristocrats built villas around the spa to stay in and several of them today are hotels for the rich and famous to stay in while visiting Piestany.

Of course, with all of the famous people visiting Piestany, there was intrigue, stories, and romance going on.

In 1933, a bridge was built in functionalist style to connect the spa with downtown Piestany. There is a statue by R. Kuhmayer of a man breaking a crutch, which is a powerful symbol of the spa's healing qualities. The parks throughout the spa have flowers and sculptures made by Slovak and other artists from around the world. In the summertime, there are many concerts and cultural events presented by the spa to entertain visitors.

Today, Piestany has returned to its old glory and many rich and famous people have come back to take in the spa and its amenities. Not many aristocrats and royalty come, but royalty such as Claudia Schiffer and hockey star Jaromir Jagr come.

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